Black Ribbon
by onormini
Summary: Ghost had been raised to be a weapon, and nothing else. She always wondered what freedom was like, and when she seeks it, it turns her life completely around. She has re-think where she stands in the world, and what side she wishes to fight for. *please note* There are no pairings in this story! *IMPORTANT* I am revising the story so I won't post anything new until I'm done!
1. Prologue

Nervousness tugged on her as she crept forward for the first time towards the thick double-doors. A loud buzzer reverberated against her eardrums and the doors opened, letting fierce light blind her eyes. When her sight adjusted, a huge parking lot appeared front of her and she bolted. Not to escape, and with no purpose, but to just feel the soft wind tussle her thick black hair and sun-kissed warmth on her fragile pale skin. The day had finally come; she was outside. Not in a simulation or a video, but truly outside. She continued to run further and further without a thought in the world, but her freedom was shattered when the tall foreboding fence stopped her in her tracks.

She flinched when a firm hand grabbed her shoulder. A man stood behind her dressed in a business suit and dark sunglasses.

"Don't get sidetracked, Ghost. If you fail this mission I can promise you this will be the last time you see the light of day. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." She replied.

"Good. Now get going."

Another buzzer went off and an opening in the fence appeared. She quickly exited the lot in fear the doors would close before she could leave, but they remained open long enough for her to leave. A phone beeped in her jacket pocket and she took in out and looked at the screen. A GPS was there and the directions had just popped up. Ghost stood on a sidewalk in what looked like the suburbs and according to the GPS she had a long way to travel. Of course, she remembered that at certain points she was to take a taxi or subway to get to her location, but for now she had to walk.

She pulled up the collar of her trench coat and hid under her fedora hat. The success of this mission relied on her ability to keep her head low. This would be much easier to accomplish once she got into the crowded city of New York. However, she knew that cameras would be watching her every move. The organization she belong to, HATCH, gained to ability to hack cameras throughout the city and watch everything that goes on. As far as she knew, they controlled everything that went on in the city, and possibly the country. She didn't know much about the organization or why she was there, she just knew that she had been there since birth and she was supposed to lead them to success.

Ghost glanced around her surroundings. People meandered here and there and the stream of cars was never-ending. What were they doing? She wondered. The workers at HATCH told her that they led pointless but easily manipulated lives. Though, they didn't tell her much, so she wasn't sure how true that was. The only things she was truly sure about was that her name was an acronym for Genetically Heightened Organism of Surgical Technology and she was the most successful product so far that HATCH or Harrison's Association for The Correction of Humankind had created. They also told her that she had been born and raised in a research facility established to find ways to enhance the success of society.

Unfortunately, her creation wasn't meant for the betterment of society, rather as a weapon for HATCH. Originally, the organization's purpose was acceptable since it really did try to help humankind. They created medicines, prosthetic limbs, and other advanced medical inventions.

That changed when John Harrison, the founder, died and left his CEO, Isaac Walter, to take over his business. Months before his death, John and Isaac had been disputing over the goals of the organization. They had been losing money from lack of consumer interest, and Isaac wanted to join with several private organizations that focused on genetic enhancement through technology. However, these private organizations had been leading illegal experiments on people and unborn children that Harrison did not approve of.

Immediately after John died, Isaac joined with the private organizations and helped start their first project; Ghost. Her purpose was to be able to protect them from outside forces of the government so they could continue there experiments in peace. However, Ghost wasn't the first to be genetically modified, two before her were experimented on, but both died horrifically. When Ghost was just a fetus, they injected her with "liquid wiring" which attached to her nerves and traveled throughout her body. When she was born, sensors in her hands and feet were surgically placed as well as a machine in her skull that connected the sensors from her nerves to her eyes.

This allowed her to do something extraordinary. The sensors on her hands and feet sent out vibrations which acted like a sort of echo-location. When the vibrations returned to her, she saw an image in her mind. This enabled her to see an entire building, the inside and out, and everything in it. An ability that they weren't expecting was matter manipulation. She could manipulate the floor the wrap around someone's legs or open up a wall, and so on. However, she had to use her sensors to be able to do this, and the downside to using her sensors is that she could only see what the sensors sent back to her. So she wouldn't be able to see a ball being thrown at her, or the sky over-head. The only thing she could see was the blue and grey grid-type images that she picked up from her sensors.

Once HATCH discovered this, they realized that she could become their perfect ace card. Throughout her 18 years of life, she was trained to enhance her skill little by little. Today, she had been approved to be "officially" tested. Her mission: break into a private laboratory and steal classified items stored inside a safe without getting caught… or killed.


	2. The Mission

**Chapter 1: The Mission**

Her get-up wasn't exactly the best disguise ever, but no one gave her a second's glance. No one seemed to give a damn in a crowded city. It wasn't as crammed and rushed as she was expecting, though. Not that it mattered; all that mattered was her mission. The city was much different from the lab simulations she was used to. All of the sounds and smells were foreign and somewhat suffocating. People were much less predictable in the real world. When you spend your years socializing with computer-programmed humans; the real thing seems like another species.

Besides the nagging discomfort in her gut, Ghost was laser focused. The constant horn-honking and yelling sales-men didn't even make her shift her eyes from her path. She looked at her GPS and it showed: _5 blocks North, 2 blocks East, then down the fifth alley and through the wall on the left. _Minutes went by without any problem, not that there should've been. The only delay was the occasional passing traffic and thick crowds. Once she started going down the 2nd East block, she saw the tall, grey building with prominent windows and glass double-doors that she was to break into.

The alleyway wasn't as dark and dank as she expected to see, in fact, she had to jump over a fence to get in since the area was being used as a sort of break-space. Several workers were standing outside smoking cigarettes and talking about some irrelevant subject. They noticed her right away and began to yell and run over to her. _Crap. Not a great start…_ She slammed her hand against the wall and the image of the courtyard came into her mind. Quickly, she manipulated the ground to wrap around the two men's bodies and their mouths.

Muffled screams were the only thing she could hear, but it was only her who could hear it. She paid no mind to the two men and proceeded to slam her hands against the wall of the building once again. She focused hard and the grey stone of the wall separated allowing her to slip inside. She could have gone through the side door, but she wanted to avoid setting off an alarm.

The room inside was storage for medical equipment, some over-the-counter medicine, and some cleaning supplies. She took off her clothes and shoes to expose her sleek black body-suit. Her feet sensors activated and she walked across the floor, making sure one had contact at all times. The crack under the door allowed her to see the room she was in and the hallway leading to it. Ghost stood still for a moment while waiting for the vibrations to reach the safe. It was three rooms to the left and had one guard standing in front of it.

_Well… that's just fabulous. _The other staff members were in an employee lounge, so no one was roaming the halls. However, several cameras were set up throughout the hallway. She turned the cameras away from the path she was to take and wrapped the floor around the guard who didn't seem too pleased with the event. She quickly entered the hallway and got in front of the safe. It was a large door, much like a bank safe, but it was rather useless against Ghost. She put her hands on it and pulled it open.

_5 minutes… maybe less, I need to be quick. _She looked around the package she was to steal and found it on top of one of the higher shelves. She took it down and ran back through the hallway and into the alleyway. She put a hand on the brick wall at the end of the hallway and made a hole for her to go through and a black Subaru was waiting on the other side. Just as she was entering the car, she heard the sound of running feet and loud yells heading towards her. Quickly, she shut the car door and the vehicle drove off.

She didn't speak during the ride; all she did was think of the events that just happened. No remorse clung to her; nothing except slight confusion passed her thoughts. It was so different, doing those things to people who were completely oblivious to what was happening. She chuckled slightly. It was amusing how helpless they were to escape her binds. Were all people that weak? She wondered. Ghost had heard about others with extraordinary powers like hers, but the people she encountered definitely weren't them. It was pitiful really.

When they got back to the facility, she didn't expect any complements or rewards. There never was, anyway. She was taught to get things done quickly and without fail because she was ordered to, not because she was expecting to get anything special. The only thing she got was the 'good job' from her driver and an order to return to her quarters to be evaluated. For Ghost, that was enough acknowledgment for her actions.

Her room's door was made of Plexiglas and white plastic rimming. It reminded Ghost of a fish bowl in a way. She lived inside while the outside world looked in just to look. Her bed was a cot with crisp white sheets and a single flat pillow. The walls were a beige color that looked dirty next to the white laminate tiles on the floor. Some medical equipment hung on the wall along with a lockbox that held a copy of her medical records and experiment results. Nothing else was in the room. Not a stray piece of paper, not an article of clothing, nothing.

This is what she lived in for 18 years. Though, she only spent a small portion of her time in that room. Most of her time was spent in the simulation room or experiment chambers. Sometimes she felt like a lab-rat, but since she didn't know any life besides the one she had, she was somewhat ignorant to the life around her.

She sat on the cot and it squeaked with resentment. The noise was familiar, and somewhat comforting. It was a norm in her life. She could rely on her squeaky bed and plain room to stay plain and squeaky. If it constantly changed, she thought to herself that she probably would go mad.

A stout blonde man in a white lab-coat walked into the room with an official looking clipboard and was peering over his glasses at Ghost.

"It seems that your… actions were somewhat satisfactory" he stated, "You could've done the job much quicker and with less damage and witnesses. However, you did manage to bring the correct package back without damaging the inside contents."

He jotted something down on the clipboard and glanced back at Ghost.

"How did you feel?" he asked.

"I felt nothing, Sir" she replied, staring blankly between his eyes so he'd think she was looking at him.

Another note was written on the paper and he sighed.

"Don't lie to me, Ghost. What did you feel?"

She looked up and thought for a moment before replying.

"I felt… bored. It was too easy. At first, it was exiting and I was a bit nervous, but when is realized that people seemed so… weak. It was… disappointing I suppose."

He wrote down another note and nodded.

"Yes, Ghost, people in the outside world aren't as genetically advanced as you are. You should be proud. The doctors who made you were definitely doing something right."

She laughed.

"What's so funny?" he asked, un-amused.

"It's just… I realize that I could kill you right now and it would take little to no effort on my part… how does that make you feel?" she asked.

He slightly rolled his eyes. "Better question is, how would that make _you _feel. Would it give you some sort of self-satisfaction? Hm?"

"I don't know. I never killed anyone before… I don't know how it would make me feel." She said.

He wrote down a few for notes and as he left the room he said, "You're time will come for that. Just don't bite the hand that feeds you, or you will starve."

The door shut behind him and it locked after he punched in a 4-digit code.

Ghost leaned back on her bed and sighed. How _would _she feel if she killed someone? She wasn't sure that it would make her feel any satisfaction like the doctor said. Maybe it would depend on who it was and the situation she was in. _Does it really matter what I feel? It's not like anyone cares…_She thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep.


	3. Relocation

An angry voice jolted her from slumber and she nearly fell off her bed in shock. She looked around and saw a man in the hall yelling at one of the lab personnel, and she relaxed. At least it wasn't her being yelled at. The man stopped shouting at the woman and then entered Ghost's room.

"Get up, now."

She did as she was told and followed the man out into the hallway and into an office.

"Wait here."

The door slammed shut and she began to get a bit nervous. Did she do something wrong? Were they going to punish her? There was only one way to be sure. It was a long time before the door opened again and a man she hadn't seen before entered with a box. He sat down in the desk in front of her and put the box on top of it.

"Hello Ghost." He said.

"Hi."

He breathed out heavily and pushed the box towards her.

"Open it."

She opened the box and inside was a uniform of some kind. When she pulled it out, she saw it was a spandex-type body suit that was completely black with striking cyan stripes running along the sides. The man got up and headed to the door.

"Change into it. You have 1 minute."

The door closed and quickly she took off her white gown and pulled on the suit. It had a high collar which covered her nose and mouth, but was still thin enough to breath. The sleeves and legs went down to her wrists and ankles, leaving her barefoot. The cyan stripes contoured the shape of her tall body and she wondered what the purpose of such a design held.

The man entered the room and made what seemed like a smile. "This is your new outfit, Ghost. The material is think and light, but will protect you against bullets and sharp objects. It will keep your body at a constant temperature to an extent, and is water proof. Think of it as an award for your service."

Ghost shook her head. "I won't. I don't get awards. I will think of it as an upgrade."

He shrugged off her comment and continued. "We have decided to let you live outside of the facility. We are transferring you to an apartment in the city which of course will be monitored and locked. You will live there and we will send you assignments you need to complete. If you do well there and follow instructions, you can stay in the apartment, however, if you break the rules you will be brought back here for more training. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"There is a car waiting outside for you. I will take you there and you will then be driven to your new home."

She got up, and the man placed something in her hand.

"Put this on."

An earpiece of some kind lay in her hand and she put it in her ear. They then did as he said before and soon Ghost arrived at her new home. The door behind her locked and she continued further inside. It was a small rectangular room with a bed, a kitchenette, a lounge-type area with an old box TV, and a separate room which she assumed was the bathroom. There were two windows on the wall which over-looked the city. She guessed that she was at least on the 10th floor. It seemed a bit odd, considering it was so far away from the entrance of the building. However, in was at the back and right next to the fire-escape, which she assumed she would be using instead of the elevator. The TV turned on with static and soon a voice could be heard.

"When I have an assignment for you, we will either contact you through this TV or through your earpiece. A GPS program has been installed to the ear-piece and it will tell you were to go. Until then, you can watch shows on this TV or sleep. END MESSAGE."

The TV turned off and she grabbed a chair and placed it in front of the window. Her hands hit the glass and the vibrations began traveling through the room. The door had a small crack under it which allowed her to see further into the building. After a few minutes, she could see the entire building. It was mostly empty with a few occupied rooms here and there. No one seemed to be a threat. Eventually she got bored and cracked open her window and sent out vibrations again. They traveled down the side of the building and she could see the sidewalk and the people walking down it. She sent the vibrations out further and further until her mind couldn't take it. She covered at least a half a square mile with the vibrations. Her hands dropped to her sides and she could only see her room again. Pain pounded through her head and she decided to rest a bit. She got water from the refrigerator, and turned on the TV.

She didn't get many messages from HATCH the weeks following, and her missions consisted of spying, stealing, or stalking. She wrote reports and recorded her findings in her journal. Life was rather boring for her. The missions she went on meant nothing to her and she was confused as to what they meant. The items she stole were of no use to her, and she wondered what HATCH could possibly be doing with them. As each day passed she found that it was extremely lonely watching people on the street go by and not to have a single person in her room to talk to. When she was at the facility, she at least could talk to the scientists or agents there. The only thing that kept her sane was the TV. The only shows she would watch was the News, or anything that was about history or culture. The other shows like reality TV confused her and she wondered why anyone would find it entertaining.

However, her life was just about to make a complete 180 and it would all start during her new mission.


	4. Capture

Ghost had been drifting off to sleep in the stiff chair when the TV turned on. She jolted up and waited for the man to speak as she rubbed the tiredness from her eyes. An image began to appear from the static, which was odd, since that never happened before. A very large building in the middle of a field was now clearly visible and Ghost guessed that she was going to have to steal something from it. The man's voice began speaking in her earpiece,

"This is going to be your final assignment before we transfer you. The building you see on the screen is a science facility that is one of our main competitors. You are to go inside and confirm the existence of Formula XII. A uniform and ID will be given to you at your door. Don't draw any attention to yourself. This isn't like the other missions. People at this facility would kill to own you. Your GPS will direct you to the room. We were unable to hack the cameras there, so you will be on your own. If anyone tries to talk to you, keep your answers short and keep walking. Go in, and get out. Don't take any longer than is necessary."

The TV clicked off and a knock on her door followed. She got up and opened it and there was a package waiting outside for her. She brought it inside and closed the door behind her. Inside the package were a white science-lab outfit, a brown wig, and colored contacts. Once she had put the disguise on, she pulled down the high collar of her underlying spandex outfit to expose her face. The GPS buzzed with static until an electronic voice told her to go down the emergency staircase.

She did as it said and she began to think about what the man had said. Transfer her to where? To another run-down cramped building? Another lab? What was Formula XII? Her questions were irrelevant and if she succeeded, they would most likely be answered. As she got the bottom of the staircase she saw a dark blue Jeep was waiting for her. She felt a bit anxious since she never had to pose as a worker before. It had been so easy to just use her powers to constrain everyone and complete her mission.

She entered the Jeep and sat in silence for about an hour until it arrived in front of the building. Ghost quietly got out and walked inside. A security guard at the entrance scanned her ID card and let her through. She felt naked, like everyone could see through her disguise and would sound the alarm any minute. No such alarm happened and she continued down the halls as the GPS instructed. She was now in front of a door to a lab which supposedly contained the Formula XII. When she was sure no one was around, she swiped her ID card on the door and entered the room.

The walls were lined with different chemicals and there were many lab stations throughout the room. The GPS told her to go to the very end of the room and look inside the refrigerator. She looked at the fridge and it seemed excessively large for storing chemicals. Her GPS beeped and the man from the TV spoke.

"According to your GPS you should be right in front of the refrigerator. If this is the case, pull up your collar and book it out of there. An alarm will go off as soon as it's opened. Open it, look for the formula, and get out. Ditch the disguise when you are alone. A car will be on the road when you need to leave. Don't fail."

The new information made her heart race. There were many hallways and rooms to maneuver through, and her GPS would be of no help in evading potential capture. Before she opened the refrigerator, she placed her hand on the wall and allowed the vibrations to travel through the building. The quickest way out was to run down the hall and open up the wall; it was the only place she was sure would lead to the outside. She just hoped her suit was as bullet proof as the man said.

She took a deep breath and opened the refrigerator. The alarm didn't go off immediately, so she had a few seconds to look inside. There was absolutely nothing inside. The alarm wailed and her heart began to race. _Think! think! What do I do?_ She had nearly forgotten about her plan, and with the amount of people gathering it wouldn't have worked. There was only one option. She hit her hand on the wall and forced it open. While keeping her hand in contact with the wall, she went through to the other room. She could see that security was gathering near the lab room door, getting ready to bust in. This was her chance. She took off her shoes and ran into the hall down to the wall at the end. They didn't notice her right away but when she got the wall they began shooting.

Quickly she touched the wall and tore it open and went through. However, she wasn't on the ground floor like she thought she was. In fact, she was about 3 floors from the ground and falling. Just as she was about to hit the ground, a metallic object took hold of her arm and yanked her back into the air. Her heart was beating hard and adrenaline was clouding her thoughts. It took her a second to realize this metallic thing was a _person. _Before she could process the situation, he dropped her on the roof and landed a few feet away.

"Where do you think you're heading?" the man asked, obviously not expecting an answer.

She stomped her foot on the ground and tried to get the roof to wrap around his legs. However, somehow he foresaw this and took off into the air again. She could no longer see him and was at an obvious disadvantage. She went back to her regular sight and saw he was right next to her. Fear coursed through her and she ran. There was nowhere to go. Nowhere but down. Somehow she remembered there were ledges on the side of the building she could grab hold of. She jumped off the roof and tried to catch the ledge, but she couldn't get a firm hold of it and slipped. Again she tried to catch a ledge, but it only scraped her hand. She could hear the flying man getting closer to her.

A flag pole was under her and as she passed it she grabbed onto the pole and swung herself into the window. Broken glass cut up the skin that was unprotected and pain was being to pulse through her. She got up and began to run, lodging glass shards into her feet. The flying man was now in the building and flew in front of her which stopped her in her tracks.

"You know, running isn't going to do any good." He said.

She was frozen in place as she tried to figure out what to do. She saw that another man had appeared in the hallway. He was dressed in a patriotic outfit and was equipped with what looked like a shield. The flying man had taken a hold of her wrists and Ghost struggled to get out of his grasp. She stomped her foot on the ground and made the floor wrap around him. He let go for a moment in shock which gave her time to run back to the window. There was only a 10ft drop below her and she could use the ledges to slow her fall.

"Get her!" the flying man yelled to the running blonde as he attempted to break out of the restraints.

Ghost jumped out of the window once again but the blonde man had caught her arm before she could fall. He looked at her face and frowned.

"My God… she's just a kid."

In panic, she spat in his eyes and he loosed his grip and she began to fall again. The ledges continued to scrape her hands, but they did slow her down. She landed with a roll to lessen the impact of the fall and began to run. Pain shot through her with each step, and blood was leaving a trail behind her on the sidewalk pavement. She looked back a brief second and saw the blonde man was gone from the window and was nowhere to be seen. The security also seemed to have disappeared, which made her relax a bit.

Ahead of her was nothing but grass and road. A car had come into sight and she hoped it was the one that was supposed to pick her up. When she got to the door of the car, she found it was locked. She looked up to see the driver, but the only thing in her view was a gun. It fired at her and electricity jolted through her body. The driver got out of the car and shot again, but this time at her foot. A dart pierced it, and soon her body went limp and unconscious.

* * *

*author's note*

Thanks for reading! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter :)

And in case I didn't explain this clearly: The "vibrations" she uses can only travel over surfaces, like walls and floors, ect. She can't see anything in the air because there is no surface for the "vibrations" to travel on. She can't hear while doing this either. Hope that clarifies things! :) Please R&R! It gives me motivation to update.


	5. Interrogation

Her eyes strained open, still heavy with anesthetic. A stray hair fell into her face and when she tried to move her hand to fix it, she found to her horror she couldn't move. She looked down and saw she was strapped down to a hospital bed and that her clothes had been replaced with a hospital gown. Tight gloves and socks had been put on her and were sending out a slight vibration. When she tried to use her sensors, it didn't work. _Crap!_ She tried pulling her hands out of the restraints, but the cuts on her skin made each tug painful. The only way she would get out is if someone undid the straps. She looked around the room and didn't recognize it at all. Wherever she was, it wasn't owned by HATCH, if it was, the room would have clear walls for observation.

There were no windows to escape from and the only way out was through a single door. A woman opened it and walked inside.

"Hello, Miss, um… Ghost, is it?"

Ghost made no response and just stared at the wall. HATCH told her never to reply to anyone outside the facility unless told otherwise.

"Ok, then. Well, my name is Mrs. Andrews. I have been put in charge of your care. How are you feeling?" She asked.

Still no reply came from her. The woman sighed and seemed to be trying to control her patience, which was becoming evident she didn't have.

"If you don't answer my questions, we will put you under anesthesia again for analysis. And you certainly do not want that; especially since we've kept you under for three days already. If you cooperate, I may just let you go. Now, I'll ask again, how are you feeling, Ghost?"

_Three days?! Someone must have noticed I've been captured! Why hasn't anyone come to help me?_

"Fine. I'll come back in a few days when you're feeling more talkative." She turned on her heel and began to walk out of the room."

"Wait! Um…"

She turned around and lifted an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"I am… uh, still in pain." She muttered. _I shouldn't be doing this. _

Mrs. Andrews smiled and jotted down something on her clipboard. "Well, of course you are. I'd be surprised if you weren't. You had quite a bit of glass lodged in your skin. You were very determined to get away, weren't you?"

Ghost didn't reply, and the woman sighed again.

"You know, interrogation isn't my forte, so after I give you this pain medication, I'm are going to transfer you to another room. The other staff doesn't put up with this "silence" crap, and there will be severe repercussions if you don't answer their questions. So you better cooperate."

Ghost snorted. "I thought you said you were going to put me under again?"

"It's much easier to communicate with a conscious person than one who isn't." The woman grabbed a needle from the shelf and drew medication out of a bottle. She then jabbed it into Ghost's shoulder, who she flinched in pain.

"There. Now I'm going to un-strap you and lead you to the other room. Don't even try to run off, we have security guards in every hallway."

She took off Ghost's restraints and helped her off the table. Her feet protested with each step. _Damn it! I need to get out of here…_ As she entered the hallway she looked around and saw that this stretch of hall was empty. So she let the woman walk away a few steps before running down the hall.

"Security! Get her!" the woman yelled.

The sound of running feet drew nearer and Ghost turned to go down another hall, but after a few more feet she became lightheaded and her legs collapsed. _What the hell? _Several men had reached her, followed by the doctor.

"I told you not to run," the woman said, as the guards cuffed her hands, "the drug gave you was meant to drop your blood pressure, so you won't be able to run off anytime soon, at least, not without passing out."

Ghost sighed angrily as she once again followed the doctor. The security guards went back to their posts, knowing that she wasn't going to be a threat for the time being. They arrived at a door on the next level and Andrews opened it to allow Ghost to walk inside. Once she entered, the door was closed and locked behind her.

The room she was now in had dark walls and grey floor tiles. A table was in the center of the room along with two chairs on either side. She sat down at the one facing the door and waited until someone entered the room.

A long time went by before someone came in. He looked much like an agent from HATCH; black suit, trimmed hair, and an earpiece sticking out of the ear. Before he sat down in front of Ghost, he walked behind her and took the handcuffs off. When he sat down he asked,

"Now, that feels better doesn't it?"

She nodded slightly and stared down at the table. He placed an envelope on the table and continued.

"Ghost, the Genetically Heightened Organism of Surgical Technology. HATCH certainly made an impressive piece of work." He opened the envelope to reveal photos of her and several pages of notes.

"You've made quite a mess for us to clean up. Destroyed buildings, stolen items, and injured civilians. The mission you just went on was a decoy set to capture you. We figured that controlling the source of the problem would be the best course of action."

"So, what? You're going to kill me now? Is that it?" She snapped angrily.

"No, no, of course not. You're too valuable to kill. Though, HATCH certainly didn't think so."

"What? What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, Miss Ghost, that we have saved you, whether you choose to believe so or not. You're being recycled."

"No, you're wrong. It's just a matter of time before they break in here and take me back to where I belong."

The man laughed. "Do you really believe that?"

"Of course! They said I was going to be transferred after my mission."

He frowned and got quiet. "I don't think you're quite getting the point here. No one is coming to get you, ever. They were going to retire you, kill you, Ghost, whether you were successful with your mission or not."

She narrowed her eyes. "You're lying."

"Really? Well, I'm the one with the spies, so I can confidently tell you that they signed you up to be killed. Want to know why they moved you to a new building? It's because they are making an updated version of you, and didn't want rumors getting to your ears. They are replacing you."

She shook her head. "No, it's not true. It can't be…"

"Well, it is. Better get used to it."

"Even if it is, why are you telling me?"

"Because, Ghost, we want you to work for us."

It took a moment for his response to sink in.

"What?"

"You heard me. You are being asked to join S.H.E.I.L.D."

_S.H.E.I.L.D.? Who the hell are they? _She leaned back in her chair and replied,

" I decline."

"That's not an option. See, we're not really asking, we are ordering."

"Then why ask in the first place?"

"Because it's polite, and it's much easier to work with someone who will work for us on their own free will. Unfortunately, that isn't you. So your life has become much harder."

Ghost crossed her arms and spat, "I will never work for you."

The man laughed. "It doesn't matter if you do or don't. We will break you."

He closed the envelope and took it with him to the door. Before he left, he said,

"That means that your life has just become a living hell."


End file.
